I am a sci VA who likes a mix of sci skills and dps. Any help would be appreciated. Some build setups would also be appreciated. I am currently using the nebula, with 5 arrays and 1 torp.

I'm going to be irritating and say neither.


And it's the honest truth. If you want a bevy of skills to tank and CC like none other, I'd put more money on a Fleet DSSV. It has an extra science console, more shielding, better turn rate, and sacrifices the ensign/lt. science stations for a lt. comm science station. This lets you run two tachyon beam IIIs, which is awesome. Now, if you don't necessarily want that, you can look to the Fleet Research Science Vessel, aka the Olympic/Hope/Horizon. They have identical station setups, so it's easier to compare.

The Hope has 3 higher turn rate, an extra engineering console and more crew with a sacrifice of .08 shield modifier and 2k less hull. Not a bad trade-off.

As for the Nebula, you can mimic the Hope by turning the universal station into a science. This means the Nebula, if trying to mimic the Hope/D'Kyr, has at least 1 less turn rate, but has at least 1k more hull and at least .13 more shield modifier. Then again, you can also use the Nebula to mimic the Recon to gain a better tac station or try and mimic the DSSV to out-tank that particular craft. Yes, it has less turn rate, but if you're comparing it to the D'Kyr, the Nebula comes out on top.

So while the Nebula, imho, is better than the D'Kyr in most ways, it is not so clear-cut with the other science vessels who have a much higher turn rate than Nebula.

They're about the same, just 1 turn rate and 1500 hull difference on numbers. D'kyr gives you the support craft, Nebula gives you 2.5x the crew and a universal Lt. Seems that by that math, the Nebula gives you the same strengths plus more flexibility besides.

I own both, and would fly the Vulcan Sciance Vessel over the Nebula everyday. But this is my opinion vs. my game play. I would use the Long Range Science Vessel over them both. In my opinion this ship is not like other it is helpful to have the additional science station, based on my game play. But if you are going to buy one from the z- store I would tell you to wait until the Vesta is released. This might put a new ship in the mix. It is supposed to be science heavy, able to load cannon, have two or more options (sort of like the oddy), and possibly might even have a universal slot that might allow you to use different builds of the same spec. Until then I would fly the DSSV because it is free or cost dilithium, but this is based off my game play style of tanking and crowd control, if you are looking for DPS run the RSV.

If you take the Nebula you can upgrade to the Fleet Nebula for 500 Zen. There is no Fleet D'Kyr.

For Sci I fly the Long Range SV Retrofit.

Since you asked for a possible build, here's the one I am currently running for my Nebula. It's a variation of Cygone's Nebula build, but that and his Intrepid build thread have been pushed down a lot of pages. My build averages 4-5k raw dps, with a net dps running anywhere between 2.3k-3.5k dps. Your damage will increase dramatically based on teammates and timing. So here it is:



Proper Solitude

Stations

Commander Science Station: Hazard Emitters I, Scramble Sensors I, Gravity Well I, Photonic Shockwave III

Lt. Commander Engineering Station: EP2W I, EP2S II, Extend Shields I/Aceton Beam I

Lt. Universal (Eng) Station: EP2W I, EP2S II

Lt. Tactical Station: Tactical Team I, Torpedo Spread II

Ensign Science Station: Transfer Shield Strength I or Polarize Hull I or Tachyon Beam I


Consoles

Engineering: Borg Console, Neutronium Alloy Mk XI Rare, Nadeon Detonator/Vent Theta/RCS

Science: 3x Particle Generator Mk XII Rare, Field Generator Mk XII VRare

Tactical: Tetryon Pulse Generator Mk XI Rare, Photon Detonation Assembly Mk XI Rare


Weaponry

Fore: 2x Photon Torpedo Launchers Mk XII [Borg], 1x Phased Tetryon Dual Beam Bank Mk XI

Aft: 3x Tetryon Turrets Mk XII [Borg]


Devices

Deuterium Surplus, Subspace Field Modulator, Engine Battery


Doffs

(Note: all are purple quality)

2x Projectile Officers
1x Conn Officer affecting Tactical Team cooldown
1x Gravimetric Scientist
1x Photonic Studies Scientist

This allows you to cycle Tac Team I more frequently; you may drop it for another Photonic Doff if you feel Tac Team isn't good enough to warrant a Doff.


Skill Build

http://www.stoacademy.com/tools/skil...uild=Citadel_0


Tactics

This build is the ultimate in jack-of-all-trades craft, and does so with style. Depending on your team and situation, you can easily swap out Boffs to obtain the powers that work best for the mission. I prefer running with Transfer and Extend, though, since I usually solo the transports in Blockade; with the recent changes to tetryon weaponry, I can still run low weapons power during Blockade (to maximize Aux power for wells/heals) and still strip shields enough to effectively utilize my torpedoes.

The main point of this build is to be opportunistic while lobbing a steady stream of damage at your enemies. Nadeon Detonator, which grants you Photonic Shockwave Torpedo, is great when paired with gravity well against those pesky enemies with evasive maneuvers. Hit the well and fire the special torp at the same time, and watch with glee as their engines are knocked offline and are dragged into the well. Throw in a scramble sensors against Klingon NPCs and laugh as they throw all their special powers against one another. Nothing beats an enemy debuffing itself for you, after all!

When I said your damage is based off of timing, I truthfully mean it. The Nebula is not a fast craft, but it is fast enough to bring its weaponry to bear--Deuterium Surplus, Evasive Maneuvers, and an Engine Battery all help you keep mobile during battle as well. Once an enemy has a shield face down, pummel it relentlessly with your torpedoes. And as for timing + teammates, my fleeties have learned one valuable lesson when flying with me: when the gravity well pulls in a mob, strip shields and watch as my PSW III hits for 15k+ on each enemy. PSW III is straight kinetic damage, so only fire it off for damage when the enemy's shields are down. And, with this skill build above, you won't push them far away like Repulsors will. Then again, I rarely fire off PSW III without a gravity well in the first place.

Keep in mind, however, that I am an engineer captain, so I can make good use of EPS Transfer. Then again, I hardly ever use Nadion Inversion or Miracle Worker...the ship is simply too tough to warrant its use. I'm sure a tac or sci captain can do even more damage than I can with this setup. And again, this build uses Cygone's wonderful Nebula guide, so I give all of this credit to him.